Israel`s current standing in the United Nations is the worst it has been in nearly forty years, said Israel`s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev, in an interview with Army Radio on Sunday.

`Our situation in recent months can be compared to the 1970s, when Zionism was being called racism,` said Shalev.

Shalev added in the interview that as far as she knew the Libyan backed aid ship, the Almathea, which originally planned to sail to Gaza, `has left Greece and is headed for [Egyptian Port] El-Arish.

The ambassador stated that she had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and spoken to him personally about the Gaza-bound ship, telling him it was `a provocation, especially in light of the easing of the Gaza blockade.`

Shalev said that Ban is still planning on forming an international panel, which would include Turks and Israelis, to investigate the May 31 raid of the Mavi Marmara in which nine Turkish activists were killed by IDF soldiers.

Shalev, who announced her resignation last month, said that she will return to Israel at the end of summer when her time as ambassador is scheduled to end officially on September 1. She added that she still has no idea who will replace her as UN ambassador.